[Ilugc] Linux about to fork?
- From: sridharinfinity@xxxxxxxxx (Sridhar R)
- Date: Sun Nov 21 22:17:46 2004
On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 21:20:57 +0530, Kumaraguru <kums@xxxxxxx> wrote:
http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2648&Page=1&pageP
os=2
Useless post! Linux kernel forks all the time. 2.7 is a fork of 2.6
for example. See this letter,
From: Chad Walstrom
Subject: Comment: Is Linux about to fork?
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 19:43:15 -0600
To: kierenm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm writing to comment on the article "Is Linux about to fork?"
written by Paul Krill, posted on the 18th of November, 2004. Paul
really doesn't do his homework, does he? Nor does he understand the
development process of the Linux kernel. Linux has ONLY been around
for ten years, with a well documented idea behind the "fork" he is
speaking about.
Currently, the Linux kernel is at version 2.6.9, with 2.6.10
peeking around the corner. This is the STABLE kernel, the one
receiving most of the attention over the last year or so. The kernel
eventually always forks to a DEVELOPMENT branch, in this case the 2.7
branch. Is Linux about to fork? Yes! Does this have any correlation to
the Unix idea of forking? No!
Kernel-Trap.com covered the recent possible changes to the Linux
Development Model in
http://kerneltrap.org/node/view/3513. In general,
forks are good things in the Free Software environment; it's part of
life.
For a straight FAQ Q&A style of answering the question:
http://www.tldp.org/FAQ/Linux-FAQ/kernel.html#linu x-versioning
Q: How Does Linux Kernel Versioning Work?
A: At any given time, there are several "stable" versions of
Linux, and one "development" version. Unlike most proprietary
software, older stable versions continue to be supported for as long
as there is interest, which is why multiple versions exist.
Linux version numbers follow a longstanding tradition. Each
version has three numbers, i.e., X.Y.Z. The "X" is only incremented
when a really significant change happens, one that makes software
written for one version no longer operate correctly on the other. This
happens very rarely ? in Linux's history it has happened exactly once.
The "Y" tells you which development "series" you are in. A
stable kernel will always have an even number in this position, while
a development kernel will always have an odd number.
The "Z" specifies which exact version of the kernel you have,
and it is incremented on every release.
The current stable series is 2.4.x, and the current
development series is 2.5.x. However, many people continue to run
2.2.x and even 2.0.x kernels, and they als o continue to receive
bugfixes. The development series is the code that the Linu x
developers are actively working on, which is always available for
public viewing, testing, and even use, although production use is not
recommended! This is part of the "open source development" method.
Eventually, the 2.5.x development series will be "sprinkled
with holy penguin pee" and become the 2.6.0 kernel and a new stable
series will then be established, and a 2.7.x development series begun.
Or, if any really major changes happen, it might become 3.0.0 instead,
and a 3.1.x series begun.
[pasted from alterslash.org]
--
Sridhar R -
http://cs.annauniv.edu/~rsridhar
Blog:
http://www.livejournal.com/~sridharinfinity
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